The Dragon Slayer Who Regressed After 1,000 Years - Chapter 27

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

The Dragon Slayer Who Regressed After a Thousand Years — Episode 27
Leonan stepped out of the vault, his trembling hands reaching for the Crystal Ball.
He dreaded what rebuke might come, but the report couldn’t wait.
As the saying goes, it’s better to take the blow first than to hesitate.
—What is it?
“It’s about the… Dragon Heart…”
—Did you obtain it?
“Well…”
A sigh escaped Leonan’s lips unbidden.
“It’s… disappeared.”
—What?
“I apologize. I wasn’t careful enough—shortly after I touched it, it vanished like smoke. I’m so sorry…”
—……
A heavy silence stretched between them.
Leonan’s back grew slick with cold sweat.
—What are you saying? The heart just… disappeared?
“Yes… I apologize…”
—Explain exactly what happened.
“The heart was in its place. But I wasn’t careful enough—the moment I touched it, it scattered like smoke…”
—That’s nonsense. Why would it disappear?
Faced with the reaction of someone hearing the most absurd thing in the world, Leonan blinked rapidly.
“Isn’t a Dragon Heart the sort of thing that vanishes if you’re not careful with it?”
—No. It doesn’t vanish. If it did, it would be worthless as a collectible.
“Ah…?”
Having never seen a Dragon Heart before, he’d assumed his carelessness had destroyed it.
Relief washed over him even as a fresh confusion took its place.
“Then where did it go?”
—You touched it and it disappeared?
“Yes.”
—It’s likely a forgery made with Illusion Magic.
“…”
Illusion Magic.
He’d never considered such a possibility—not even for a moment.
—I’ll report this to my superiors.
The light in the Crystal Ball faded.
The conversation had ended, but Leonan’s questions remained burning.
Even without deep magical knowledge, he understood that Illusion Magic existed in the eighth circle—the realm of the most powerful mages.
“Who on earth…?”

* * *
The Black Dragon Belakorsu was dead, and a new leader had been chosen.
The victor was his eldest son, Nerkasion.
It was around that time Alton received contact through the Crystal Ball.
—Are you the human who communicated with Belakorsu?
“Yes. Nerkasion.”
—So you’ve heard of me. You know my name already.
“Of course. Belakorsu used to speak highly of you. He said you were courageous yet magnanimous…”
—A dragon who didn’t even show his face for five hundred years, yet you speak of him so graciously.
“…”
It had been a flattering lie, but it didn’t take.
Alton chose his words with care.
He made every effort not to displease him.
After all, wasn’t Nerkasion now the head of the Black Dragon Clan, even if he lacked Belakorsu’s stature?
—Since Belakorsu is dead, I will inherit his position. So hand over the treasures to me as you did for him.
A brash demand, as though he were simply retrieving something he’d left on deposit.
Displeasure flared in Alton’s chest, but he gave no sign of it.
Someone had to fill the void, and he needed a dragon to broker his trades.
Had his contemplation stretched too long?
Nerkasion, interpreting the silence as doubt, spoke again.
—With an information network as renowned as yours, you’ve surely heard that I’ve ascended to leadership.
“Yes, I’ve heard the news. Congratulations. But I wonder if you’ve heard this as well…….”
―What are you talking about?
“Drakasion has passed away.”
―…….
Alton already knew.
He knew who had killed Drakasion.
But one couldn’t make a judgment based solely on one account.
So he asked, probing for more.
“You didn’t know, then?”
―I didn’t. I never thought he’d perish from something so trivial. Weak creature.
“In fact, it wasn’t the wounds from the succession duel that claimed him.”
―It wasn’t?
“Drakasion was killed by the knights of Bellion. More precisely, it was a joint operation between Bellion and the Asel Knights. And they……removed his heart as well.”
Nerkasion fell silent, as if struck by the revelation.
After a long moment, a voice emerged from the Crystal Ball.
―So you’re telling me that humans……killed Drakasion? And took his heart?
“Yes. They took advantage of his weakened state from the duel wounds to do it. We’re certain of this.”
―How do you know that?
“I’ve planted spies in Bellion. We saw every detail of what happened there. There’s no doubt.”
His brother was dead.
Not by anyone else’s hand, but by that of humans.
Even if dragons cared nothing for familial bonds.
―How dare you…….
Nerkasion felt rage kindle within him.
―Humans dare to lay a hand on Drakasion?
Alton could read certainty in his reaction.
If played correctly, he could seize the initiative here.
“Allow me to help you with your vengeance.”
―…….
“Humans understand humans far better than anyone. I will take the lead in eliminating the King of Bellion and his knights—those responsible for Drakasion’s murder. Trust me with this.”
―I’ve heard humans are cunning. Can I trust you?
“You can trust us. All we ask is to bask in your shadow, so to speak. That alone would be more than enough.”
He spoke with utmost deference.
As though he desired nothing.
It was the only way to sway a dragon who despised humanity.
Later, he could use him as he saw fit.
―Very well. I’ll give you a chance.
“Thank you. First, I’ve prepared a gift to celebrate your ascension as leader. Shall I send someone to Belakorsu’s lair?”
―No. Give me the location of my lair instead.
Alton thought to himself.
In the end, dragons were all the same.

* * *
In the north of the Asel Kingdom lay the Trolley Mountain Range.
Deep within it lay a swampland.
The Poisoned Swampland, which admitted no trespassers.
Long ago, the breath of a Green Dragon had engulfed this place.
Moss-covered rocks, stagnant water, even the very air itself.
There was nowhere the toxin had not seeped, and it had become a barren land of death where nothing could survive.
Or so it was for ordinary creatures, at least.
‘I didn’t know either, until I came here. That swamp monsters actually exist.’
Some say they were born when the toxins accumulated over centuries merged with living matter; others claim they were the refuse of black mages, abandoned and transmuted into monsters by the poison.
Whatever the truth, Cain had faced a swamp monster before.
Before the Regression.
‘Even at Seven Star, it wasn’t an easy fight.’
The monster’s own strength was negligible.
The real problem was the toxin spreading across the entire swampland.
‘The poison interferes with Aura circulation, and I have to burn Aura just to detoxify myself. No wonder my body grew sluggish.’
The poison alone was enough to reduce him by two full ranks, dropping him to Five Star.
But with the Explorer’s Cloak, there was nothing to worry about.
The cloak wrapped around his entire body, pushing back the toxic miasma.
‘Thanks to it, I can use my full power at the seventh rank.’
As he walked, a sound came from somewhere ahead.
Uuurrrghhh.
When he turned his head, a writhing form came into view.
A peculiar shape, as if mud had been carelessly heaped together.
A sickly green liquid that flowed endlessly, melting away.
It was unmistakably a Poisoned Swampland creature.
The thing that crawled slowly through the swamp was grotesque beyond measure.
‘Its movements are slow, but I can’t afford to underestimate it.’
Cain closed the distance.
The moment he entered the creature’s range, its maw gaped open and body fluid sprayed forth.
Cain’s body slid smoothly to the side, evading.
It was a movement guided by reading the trajectory in advance with Seer’s Eyes.
Ssshhiiizzzzt—
The fluid that missed struck a tree and dissolved immediately.
A toxicity incomparable to the poison miasma that permeated the swampland.
Had he not read it beforehand, even protecting himself with Aura would have left his skin melted away.
‘Killing the creature is impossible. It’s nearly immortal.’
Before the Regression, he’d attempted to hunt one, but cutting and slicing it only made it regenerate—such was the nature of Poisoned Swampland creatures.
On top of that, they spewed poison like venom.
‘It’s an extraordinarily troublesome opponent.’
Even attempting ranged magic, the toxic miasma interfered with Mana flow, rendering it unusable.
It was only natural—even Dragons avoided this place.
‘In the end, the only way is to use Seer’s Eyes and evade…’
But even that had its limits.
No matter how far ahead he glimpsed—five seconds hence—and fled to where the creature wasn’t, the moment always came when he’d meet it face to face.
‘There’s no choice but to break through.’
Once he crossed beyond this point, the Ancient Temple where the Artifact lay hidden would appear.
‘Just two. If I cut down only those two and press onward, that’s all.’
Two hearts beat in unison.
Aura and Mana fused as one, sheathing the blade.
In an instant, he concentrated Aura into his legs.
His body exploded forward, closing the distance to the creature’s face in a heartbeat.
Crack!
He tore off its head and in the same breath launched forward, sending another creature’s head spinning high into the air.
All the while, his left eye read the path through which to break through.
‘There.’
The moment the escape route entered his vision, he ran like the wind.
No—he literally was the wind.
A wind spirit that had manifested at his back propelled his body forward.
Magic casting was blocked by the miasma, but circulating Mana within his body or employing Spirit Arts were different matters altogether.
Spirit Arts borrowed the force of nature itself, not Mana.
Grrruuuhhh.
The swampland creatures whose heads had been severed moments before were regenerating new ones and rising again.
Paying them no mind, Cain sprinted toward the temple.
Splash!
Only when he set foot on the moss-covered stone steps did the tension in Cain’s expression ease.
‘The swampland creatures can’t climb this high.’
With a lighter heart, Cain surveyed the temple.
It was smaller than expected and had little to see.
Anyone passing by would have taken it for nothing more than a simple structure.
‘But if you descend underground, you understand. Just how vast it truly is.’
Of course, not just anyone could venture down.
The entrance was inconspicuous by design, and without an Artifact of the Seer, entry was impossible.
It was the very reason why the Dragon Lord, who had spent millennia seeking out Artifacts, had never secured this place.
A pattern etched into Cain’s pupils flashed, and the door swung open.
Grrrriiinnnnd—
Stairs descending into the underground came into view.
Having visited before, Cain descended without hesitation into the darkness.
Focusing my Aura toward my eyes gave me some improvement in vision, but only so much.
Thud—crash.
Once the entrance sealed shut, even that faint light vanished almost completely.
Total darkness.
‘The staircase has ended.’
Then, far ahead, a single pinprick of light flickered into being.
Following that glow, I walked slowly forward—and an altar revealed itself.
And upon it, an object rested.
‘The Seer’s Bracelet.’
One of three Artifacts that even Arcadion had never obtained—one of three that only I had discovered before the Regression.
Before I could claim that essential item, I took a deep breath.
It might look easy to take, but the surroundings conceal a trap.
‘It will reveal itself the moment I approach the altar. That scene will unfold.’
There’s no avoiding it if I’m to claim the bracelet.
With my mind prepared, I took the first step.
After only a few paces.
The altar vanished.
The world before me dissolved into shadow.
And from that darkness, a woman emerged.
“Cain.”
Mother. Serena.
She was weeping.
“Save me.”
In the next instant, Serena’s body was engulfed in flames.
Behind her scattering ashes, a massive dragon appeared.
Ignishion.
And standing behind it—the apex of dragonkind, the eldest Dragon Lord, Arcadion.
A killing intent blazed to life in my eyes.
“Wait. I will kill you. All of you.”

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————